Elle Fanning and Kate Middleton Are Cousins: It looks like America just discovered its little slice of royalty. When historians at Ancestry.com did a massive overhaul of historical documents, including census records and birth and death certificates, they discovered that actress sisters Elle and Dakota Fanning are the 22nd great-granddaughters of King Edward III, who reigned in England from 1330 to 1376. "Generation after generation, the lines we looked at pieced back directly to King Edward III proving that Elle is a direct descendant of royalty," Ancestry.com's family historian, Michelle Ercanbrack, told PEOPLE. "You can consider her a long-lost princess. This connection is so unique and rare." It also means that the pair are 21st cousins of Kate Middleton, whose mother, Carole Goldsmith, is also a granddaughter of Edward III. [People]
Tom Ford Talks Social Media Influence: Four years ago, American designer Tom Ford seemed against all things related to the world wide web. "You see the clothes, within an hour or so they're online, the world sees them," he said back in 2010. "They don't get to a store for six months. The next week, young celebrity girls are wearing them on red carpets. They're in every magazine. The customer is bored with those clothes by the time they get to the store." Now, it seems Ford has changed his opinion of the internet. On Tuesday, he opened up to Style.com about who he really thinks has the biggest influence on today’s market and trends—and it’s no longer the glossy publications and respected critics. “…Customers don’t care any more about reviews or hard-copy publications,” he said. “They care what picture Rihanna just Instagrammed while she’s naked in bed, what shoes she has on, how she’s talking about them. That’s what they respond to.” Does this mean Bad Gal Ri-Ri's now defunct account on the social media site may have an effect on what people are buying? [The Telegraph]
Thomas Tait Snags LVMH Prize: Cashing in on a 300,000 Euro ($409,270) prize and a year of professional mentoring from fashion’s finest, designer, Thomas Tait was awarded the first LVMH 'Young Fashion Designer' Prize. The Canadian-born designer, who has shown his collections at London Fashion Week since 2011, was selected by a panel including Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, Nicolas Ghesquiere, Raf Simons, and Riccardo Tisci. Hood by Air’s Shayne Oliver and Miuniku's Nikita and Tina Sutradhar also received a prize of 100,000 Euros ($135,946) and a year of mentoring. [WWD]